What My Characters Eat Over The Holidays

Fun fact concerning this topic – I’ve actually overruled my muse. Pulling delicious memories from my childhood that I know the BFF’s in my ‘The OLD & the NEW’ series’s first book, ‘Coffee’s the New Blood’ – Penelope, Amanda, and Melissa, would have definitely prepared. Chiefly … turkey with all the trimmings for Thanksgiving. But, unlike the omega were-cougar, MC, from my ‘Cat Calls’ male-with-male series, that I know for certain would have put dark-chocolate in his homemade pumpkin pies and roasted pecans in the dough of his pecan pies (as well as good Kentucky bourbon in the filling).

The girls would have stayed traditional … right down to stuffing (yes, I said stuffing) their bird with roasted chestnuts and cranberry stuffing. They’d have also had mashed potatoes with giblet-gravy, sweet-potatoes topped with toasted marshmallows, glazed carrots and bacon green-bean casserole made with fresh (not canned) beans with very crunchy onions on top. (FYI: My mother used canned cream-of-mushroom soup in this dish – but I like it better without it. Sheesh!) Now, since my were-cougars are carnivores through-and-through, MC wouldn’t have complicated his Thanksgiving feast with hot veggie-dishes. But, if you read the first two books in that series, ‘Leviticus’s Purr’ and ‘Robert’s Roar’, you already know that MC is always about a well balanced meal. Therefore, a huge bowl of mixed greens with delicious home-made blue-cheese dressing would have graced his table.

Literally surrounding that salad would be several high-protein options. A tremendous honey and whisky-glassed bone-in ham, venison, several rabbits, and a whole head-to-tail (though cleaned) king-salmon. Its cavity stuffed with a verity of fresh herbs and lemon wedges. (Although I’ve had this fish both baked and grilled … I prefer it baked.) Every item mentioned above I’ve enjoyed one year or another while growing up. Other than Christmas Eve, where we always had a verity of finger-foods, home-made cookies and candies – along with a huge pot of freshly made clam-chowder, Christmas dinner mimicked Thanksgiving. So – I fell it is the same for my characters. Don’t misunderstand – there were many, many more options that were interchangeable. Far too numerous to mention. But I feel certain that in up-and-coming books, for both these two series at least, I’m going to convince my muse to pen a holiday feast.

If you have any fun-family-memories, or food favorites that have become a must have during the holidays … please share them with me. I’ll consider your suggestion(s) and perhaps include it in a future book. If I do – I’ll not only contact you, but will also mention you and your contribution on the acknowledgement page of that book. “Write on.”